ingrid tanner (soookeh) wrote in onceuponadream, @ 2013-05-18 22:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | !incomplete, character: dean chapman, character: ingrid tanner, player: aimee, player: lena |
Who: Ingrid Tanner and Dean Chapman
When: Monday May 13th, mid-afternoon
Where: LBU campus, outside Ing's classes
What: BFF reunion, Dean's checking up on her
Rating: Low/TBD
Dean hadn’t been planning on coming home so early. He’d finished his exams a few days before and had actually planned on staying at his apartment near the law school for another week or two and hang out with his friends at law school. He’d learned early on that his...ability didn’t seem to exist when he was outside of Luna Bay. He’d never once turned into an animal when he was somewhere other than his hometown. But then he’d gotten that text from Ingrid and his plans had changed. He knew she hadn’t meant to send it to him, she’d even addressed it to Charles in the text but he’d read it anyway and then there was no way around it as far as he was concerned. He’d booked a plane ticket home and now he was standing outside the university building where Ingrid’s class met, waiting on her, leaning against the hood of his car. He’d known about her accident, had even called her a few times to talk since he couldn’t afford to leave school right then and come home to see her and she’d never mentioned anything about being pregnant. About losing the baby. If she had, he’d have come home to be with his friend, give her whatever support she needed. That was what friends were for right? He looked up when he heard people coming in his direction, his eyes scanning the group for the familiar blonde head and a warm smile spread across his face when he saw her. He didn’t judge her for whatever choices she’d made about telling or not telling Charles about the baby before that text, he just wanted to be there for her if she needed him. He stood up straight, calling her name to get her attention and then held his arms out to hug her as soon as she got close to him, just wanting to hold her for a few seconds without either of them saying anything. He loosened his hold on her a little and looked down into her face, “How have you been Ing?” he asked her quietly. Ing hadn’t told anyone about the baby after the accident. She didn’t know why. It might have been easier to cope with if she’d let the people in her life help her through it. There had just been this little voice inside her head telling her not to tell people. She knew why she’d kept it from her parents, of course. They would have freaked the hell out! That meant keeping it from her siblings, even Ronnie, so they wouldn’t be forced to keep such a huge secret. Somehow, along the way, that had led to her deciding to not tell anyone. She knew now that had been the wrong decision, but it seemed pointless to let it come out after the fact, when the damage had already been done. As for Charles, her intentions had been good. She hadn’t wanted him to go through the kind of pain she was in at the discovery and loss of their unborn son. Maybe that would have seemed more noble if she hadn’t caused him so much pain of another kind, but Ingrid couldn’t go back and change the past or how she’d acted. She was just trying to move on the best she knew how. It was funny, though, how even three years later it affected her. She still missed Charles and she still mourned the child they could have had. Ing didn’t know what had possessed her to text him Saturday night. She didn’t know why she had thought telling him all that would be a good idea. Alcohol did funny things to people and apparently in that instance it had just filled her full of a lot of crazy. The fact that she’d apparently sent it to more than just him only added to her embarrassment. When Ingrid came out of class today and saw Dean standing there, her face broke out into a radiant smile. She hadn’t been expecting him home for at least a few more weeks! Dean’s visits home weren’t very frequent and it was an understatement to say she missed him. Before she knew it, she was running toward him. Her bag full of her books and things was tossed to the ground as she threw herself into his waiting arms and hugged him for all she was worth. “Dean! What are you doing home already?” she cried, but it was obvious this was a good surprise. Her smile faltered when he pulled back and asked how she was doing. Ing didn’t like to read her best friend’s mind, but there were times when she couldn’t help herself and even though she couldn’t get a full read, she could sense that he already knew. “<i>Embarrassed</i>,” she answered him, shaking her head. “I guess you got that text, too. I was out drinking with the girls and I don’t even know. Clearly texting and tequila do NOT mix.” She knew there were things she should explain. Even he hadn’t known the things she mentioned in that text. Ing just wasn’t in a rush to talk about it, even to Dean who was her best friend in the whole world. Dean could tell just by the sound of her voice that she was happy to see him despite everything else that she had to be going through. “I was getting homesick. And worried about Amelia and you. Besides, there wasn’t anything for me to do there that I couldn’t do here.” he told her trying to sound casual but he knew she’d be able to read him too well to buy that. She might not be able to read his thoughts, which at times was probably a good thing, but he’d never managed to figure out how to keep her from reading his emotions. He couldn’t help but laugh quietly at her comment about tequila and texting. “Tequila and most things don’t mix. I thought you knew that,” he told her, teasing her a little to try to help her relax and quit being so embarrassed. “As far as drunk texts go, I’ve gotten worse. Hell, I’ve sent a few that were a lot worse,” he said, hoping she’d remember the fact that a drunk text was why he’d ended up without a roommate his last semester here. He’d honestly thought he’d sent that to the girl he was dating at the time and not his roommate. He’d thought they could just laugh it off when he realized what he’d done but the guy hadn’t been willing to do that. Apparently he hadn’t believed that Dean had honestly done it by accident when drunk. “So...coffee, ice cream, beach, where do you want to go? I’ve been hearing little pieces of information all year but nobody’s told me the whole story. I want to know what I’ve missed. With everybody,” he told her. He wanted to know what was going on with her, but he didn’t think she’d be willing to just spill it all out right off the top. If he could get her to fill him in on what the other people they knew were up to, they might get around to talking about what she’d mentioned in that text. Ing had never been a big drinker, so she didn’t have a lot of experience with drunk texting. Or drunk anything. She didn’t usually have more than one or two drinks when she went out with the girls, but somehow Saturday night had been different. She’d drank [...] more margaritas than she could really remember. And there might have been shots, too. Honestly, a lot of the night was still kind of a blur. She might not have even known about the text she’d sent if the history wasn’t still on her phone. Along with the responses it had gotten. “Coffee,” she answered decisively. Really, why had he even needed to ask? Ingrid Tanner’s addiction to coffee was legendary. And she’d only had a couple of cups this morning. She was definitely overdue for at least a large latte or maybe even a macchiato. “We can hit the beach after coffee if you’re that desperate to see me in a bikini, though,” she teased him. It was easy to joke with Dean, because she knew he didn’t see her that way. They’d been friends forever. Ingrid would be happy to fill him in on the town gossip, of course. She had no problem talking about what other people were up to. She was going to avoid the topic of that stupid text message for as long as she could, but they did have a lot to catch up on. Dean grinned, he hadn’t really been expecting her to choose anything else. He knew perfectly well about her addiction to coffee. His was almost that bad during the school year. He couldn’t get out of his apartment without at least one cup, usually more than one to be actually functional. But manners insisted he ask her just in case she wanted something else. “That transparent huh? You figured out the real reason I came home early, I just couldn’t go another day without seeing you in a bikini. Being worried was just a lie,” he said, teasing her back. He’d never seen Ingrid as anything other than a friend and they both knew it. They could tease each other about just about anything. “You want to drive or you want me to?” he asked. “I mean there’s no sense in taking both cars and I want to ask you something before we get to all the gossip I’ve missed out on” he added. She’d had an opportunity that he hadn’t to see Amelia’s brother Dex and he couldn’t help but wonder what the guy was like. And how the two of them got along. Amelia was his sister too so he figured he had a right to know. “I knew it!” Ingrid couldn’t help grinning. She’d missed Dean a lot while he was away at school. Honestly, she didn’t know why he had to go so far away, anyway. LBU wasn’t a bad school at all. A part of her almost wished she’d gone someplace else, though. Away from this town. It was especially tempting after everything with Charles. She could never bring herself to really leave, though. Luna Bay was her home. “You don’t need to be worried, Dean,” she told him, serious for a moment. “I’m fine.” That might not be entirely true, but she was trying really hard to be. And the truth was the most of the time she was okay. She missed Charles, but she was moving on. She was focusing on school and trying her best to get past everything that had happened. She made a face when he said there was something he wanted to ask her. That was probably code for “I want to talk about that text” she figured. She didn’t really see any way out of it, though, so she nodded her head. “Yeah, I can drive. It’s been so long since you’ve been home, you probably don’t remember the way, anyway,” she added, teasing him again. “Ing, I’m always going to worry about my friends. Even when everything is coming up perfect for them, I worry. It’s why I’ll either make an awesome lawyer or a terrible one” he told her with a grin. He’d known he wanted to be a lawyer since he was ten. Except for those times when he had those daydreams about opening up his own restaurant and bar. Those were always weird because they came out of nowhere and only happened when he was at home. He noticed the face she made and shook his head, guessing that she was thinking it was something bad. “I want to get your opinion on somebody. You’ve had a chance to meet them and get to know them and I...haven’t,” he explained, trying not to give too much away until they were in the car. It was one thing to ask Ing what she thought about the guy. It was something else entirely to ask where anyone walking by could hear their conversation. He trusted Ingrid to keep the conversation between them, he didn’t trust anybody who overheard them to do the same. Ingrid just shook her head and laughed. She knew that was how Dean was. He’d always been the protective sort. Occasionally, she found it irritating when that trait was turned on her, but mostly she found it endearing, the way he looked out for people. She knew Dean had a good heart. It was, she expected, the thing that had always drawn her to him. His hints as to what he wanted to ask certainly piqued her curiosity. Aside from going out with the girls, Sookie hadn’t had much of a social life to speak of since the accident. Being able to hear everyone’s thoughts sort of made you shy away from dating and going out very often. She wondered who he was talking about, but Dean never had been a very clear broadcaster. She supposed it had something to do with his ability. I somehow meant she could read basic emotions off of him, but never full thoughts. “Who?” she asked him, squinting a little at the bright afternoon sun. “You know I’ll tell you anything you wanna know if you can.” Dean looked around when she asked him who and then back at her before answering her question quietly once he knew no one was around. “Amelia’s other brother Dex,” he told her a little embarrassed himself now. He knew he was being ridiculous about this but he couldn’t help it. He wanted Amelia to know her biological family if that was what she wanted but he still couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the fact that she had another brother now. One that was famous. “I’m being stupid aren’t I?” he asked, running a hand through his hair as he looked down into her face. He was maybe being a little silly, but Ingrid didn’t blame him too much. She knew he was protective of his sister. Dean had a good heart, that was one of the things Ing had always loved about him. That was also why she hadn’t told him about everything after the accident. It was hard enough to keep him from rushing home when she’d been hurt. “I don’t really know him too well, to be honest,” she said. She’d met him, of course. Her cousin Bee was in his band, so of course she knew the guy. But it wasn’t like they were BFFs or anything. “From what I’m seen, though, he adores Amelia. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” If she hadn’t been trying so hard not to read his emotions, she might have realized he was jealous, but as it was, she thought he was just being protective of his little sister. |